Told you it would be along.......
-oOo-
Epilogue
Daniel flicked through one of the poetry books that Jonas acquired while staying in the infirmary. He hummed to himself as the Kelownan's eyes slowly opened and focused on him.
"Hey," Daniel smiled down at the awakening man.
"Doctor Jackson, Daniel," Jonas corrected himself, "I, I must have dozed off." He continued rubbing his eyes while beginning to sit up.
"Here let me help," Daniel offered, placing the book back to aid the younger man.
"Thanks," Jonas added as Daniel arranged his pillows, "how long have I been out?"
"Oh, a few hours."
"Really, I feel like I've slept for days," Jonas replied, stifling a yawn.
"Well it's been five since Sam dispatched Huitzilopochtli and to be honest you've slept through most of them."
Jonas smiled lightly, "yeah," he answered stretching, "feels like it."
He looked at Daniel and winced, "how's the head?" He asked.
Daniel tapped the tender bruise on his forehead, lightly, "the headaches are gone," he observe cocking his head to one side, "the Doc gave me the 'all clear' a couple of days ago."
Jonas nodded, "and the Colonel?"
"He was discharged after a day."
The alien raised his eyebrows, Jackson laughed, "Jack threatened the Doctor."
Jonas smiled, "oh," he said.
Daniel wiped a hand over his face, "how about you, how are you feeling?"
"Well my wound's almost healed," the Kelownan replied, "although I'm gonna have a nice scar there," he quipped laying a hand across the bandages on his chest.
Jackson cringed slightly, "Jonas I meant..."
"I know," the alien replied softly with a sigh, "I'm I glad Huitzilopochtli is dead? Yeah," he paused, looking down at his hands which he knotted together, "but, but it was never about revenge, Daniel, not for me." He looked the other man in the face, "I just wanted answers, I just wanted to know why."
"And did you 'get' those answers?"
Jonas turned away, focusing on the end of the bed, "yeah," he said with certainty, "yes."
"And?"
"I'm okay, Daniel, honest."
"Really?"
"Yeah, really," he offered, with a genuine smile.
Jackson nodded; they fell silent for a while.
"I see you're ready for the off?" Jonas commented, eagerly looking at the Egyptologist's BDUs.
"Yeah," Daniel replied with little enthusiasm, "S'hang came through for us and confirmed that Osiris helped Ravel overthrow your government. The Tok'ra are worried that with the aid of technology Anubis acquired from the Ancients, it's, it's only a matter of time before Osiris is able to control the power of Naquadria. That's why we've been given the go-ahead to launch a joint attack on Osiris's base. Sam and Teal'c are at the Alpha site, now, helping several Tok'ra and Jaffa units to mobilise. The Colonel and myself are joining them shortly with several more SG teams."
"I was wondering what all the commotion was about," Jonas replied, gesturing to the activity going on in the infirmary.
He looked down at his injury again, "I wish I was going with you," he said.
"I know, Jonas, but this is just the first strike, there will be other opportunities," Daniel stated, wearily.
Jonas studied him for a moment, sensing him shuffle his conflicting thoughts, "you'll get her back," he said gently, his voice hopeful.
"Who?" Daniel posed.
"Sarah," the alien answered, "the Tok'ra have successfully removed a symbiote from a host before..."
"That's if we manage to capture Osiris," Daniel argued, without optimism and then added, "alive." He looked down at his hands.
"Hey, see ya finally up, Junior," O'Neill cried as he entered the infirmary.
"Colonel I..." Jonas responded, shifting in the bed
"It's okay, I just dropped by to let Danny know he's got ten minutes," Jack parked himself on the edge of the bed.
"And?" Jackson volunteered, with a small smile.
"And?" O'Neill retorted shaking his head.
"Jack."
The Colonel sighed, "and to give you this," O'Neill relented, handing Jonas a gift-wrapped package.
Jonas examined the parcel; "it's just a little something, from all of us, to keep you out of trouble while we're away kicking butt," Jack pointed out.
"A book?"
"See, Daniel, I told you, that's the problem with giving someone with Jonas's abilities a present, he knows what it is before opening it."
"Oh, no Colonel, it's, it's just a guess, by the shape and..." He looked at the smile spread across Jack's face, "you were just funning with me, right?"
"You bet ya."
Jonas pulled the paper off quickly, "Now We Are Six, A Collection Of Poems By A.A. Milne." He turned the book over in his hand, "Thanks, I haven't heard of this one?"
"Oh, then you're in for a treat," O'Neill replied, eyes wide. He then turned to Jackson, "Daniel, we need to get going," he reminded.
Both men stood to leave, "oh, before I forget," Daniel added, rummaging through his pockets, "Sam gave me these," he handed Jonas a small brown envelope.
Jonas opened it carefully spilling the contents onto his palm, "Honey Grass seeds? Where did..?"
"She said they fell out of your hand when you were unconscious."
He thought for a while and then looked up at both men with a faint smile, "they're from Kelowna, the seeds are a, a symbol of rebirth of the seasons, of a renewal of crops, of, of future hope for the people." He clasped them in his fist.
"Oh," Jack said looking at his watch.
Jonas unclenched his palm and took one of the five kernels from cluster before handing them back to Daniel. "Would you each take one, Teal'c and Sam as well?" He asked, "for good luck? Then, then maybe we could all plant them back on Kelowna." He smiled, "I mean Langaria."
Daniel took the seeds from him and gave one to Jack, "sounds like a plan," O'Neill acknowledged slipping it into his top pocket.
-oOo-
The door slid open with a serpentine hiss. Herak entered the darkened chamber taking a second to glance at the planet they were orbiting before falling to his knees.
"Report," a deep voice jarred from within the gloom.
Herak looked up, a sly smile spread across his lips, "as you predicted, my Lord, the Tok'ra have began their attack along with the Tau'ri, believing it is Osiris who occupies this planet."
Ba'al stepped out from the shadows and turned to observe the planet of Langaria, "good," he whispered, folding his arms, "you have done well Herak."
The Goa'uld moved away from the observation porthole and sat down on his autocratic throne, crossing his legs, "my only wish is to serve you, my Lord Ba'al," the First Prime fawned, bowing his head.
"And you have done," Ba'al continued stroking his small beard, "your loyalty will not be forgotten, now leave me," he waved the Jaffa away with a gloved hand.
The prostrate man got to his feet, "what do you wish done with the Shol'va, S'hang?"
Ba'al smiled, "he has outlived his usefulness, let Ravel deal with him, the Kelownan's seem to enjoy the spectacle of a public execution."
"As you wish, my Lord," Herak bowed again and then turned back toward the door.
He heard a stifled giggle escape from the other side of the room and narrowed his eyes to locate its source; irritated he left the room.
"As you wish my Lord," a voice mocked when the door closed behind the First Prime.
A young man sauntered out from the shadows, his graceful movement courting the room with its effeminate allure. His delicate body was wrapped in the white of a bed sheet, which blended with the pallor of his skin.
Ba'al placed an elbow on the gilded arm of the throne, bringing his index finger to rest under his nose, "do not forget that it is he who has helped deceive both Osiris and the allies and therefore given me time to establish my Jaffa on this planet and to fortify my position," he said gruffly.
"Then, let us toast his efforts," the young man replied, holding two large goblets in his hand.
He offered one to Ba'al, which the Goa'uld took with caution. The young man smiled and provocatively licked the rim of his own cup before taking a sip of the scarlet liquid it contained, his eyes never leaving the older man's face. He then exchanged it with the one Ba'al held, grinning smugly at the Goa'uld who snorted dismissively.
"Do you fear me?" The young man asked idly, as he rubbed his finger around the lip of the goblet.
Ba'al sat back in his chair, amused, and looked deep into to the boy's angelic yet salacious face, "I fear no one, especially those who serve me," he took a large gulp of the liquid as if to stress the point.
"You forget, my Lord Ba'al, I serve no one but myself," came the replied.
The Goa'uld stood up and walked over to the young man, a sinister undertone stretching the gap between them. He reached out and took several long strands of the Kelownan's, fine, honey-blonde hair, smoothing it between his fingers, "then, I do not fear that which I control," he whispered balefully in his ear.
"And like it or not, Morgan, I control you. But if you do not like it here I can quite easily send you back to that crumbling Government institution, full of vacant half-wits, that I found you in," he threatened.
He pulled back a length of the young man's hair to reveal a rope like scar that brutalised his frontal lobe and smiled, "and Kelowna has such outdated and barbaric laws," he said following the disfigurement with his fingertip.
Morgan pushed the Goa'uld's touch away and let his hair fall back into place, Ba'al let a sneer dust his lips, "what do you think your eminent, Government, doctors would do if they knew that they had not purged you of your ability but made you stronger? Do you think you would keep that pretty face of yours, my sweet Hok'tar, when they slice you open, again, and remove more of your brain? Or do you think they would make an example of you and your mixed blood and publicly stone you as I believe they will do to the Shol'va?"
The young man looked down on the Kelowna continent and craned his neck for the Goa'uld to lightly fondle.
His mind wandered back to a frosty school playground when his own, frozen, words had condemn him, "you don't belong here, Jonas Quinn, you're not one of us. You are the orchestrator of our doom, you will end the Kelownan dream."
He remembered the look on Miss Helvellyn's face, when she had come to Quinn's aid, and he had revealed to her images of her own death. He smiled, he'd enjoyed the power of exploiting her fear, he'd enjoyed the expression of dread that had stretch across her withered features, the same expression he had seen on his parents' faces when they had abandon him to the Government; the same expression of fear he sometimes glimpsed on the face of the Goa'uld.
Morgan turned to face the other man, "then you would be without a Hok'tar," he retaliated, "unless you wish to inhabit this fragile body?" He loosened the sheet letting it fall to his hips and lowered his eyes to take a sip of wine.
Ba'al encircle the Kelownan's slender neck with one hand, his fingertips applying a muted pressure; Morgan moaned with both pleasure and pain, the wine dribbling onto his pale chin.
"I am no Anubis, or Tok'ra," he whispered close to the young man's ear, "I would not wish to share dominance of your frail form, especially, as I believe, our joining would not be compatible. And if I were to die, Morgan, you would be without the means for your revenge," he loosened his grasp and moved his thumb across the boy's chin, wiping away the remnants of the drink. "So for the time being we have need of each other."
"And after that?" Morgan probed, licking the ripeness of his lips with a flamboyant tongue as he slipped easily out of his covering.
The Goa'uld looked down at the younger man with loathing and lust, "we will see," he said, bringing his thumb to his lips.
-oOo-
The End?
A/N:- (well everyone else does them!)
A big thanks to CT and TT it still amazes me how one smile can melt my heart
Again my apple-low-gs for all the lengthy waits between updates.
To all those who reviewed:-
Darkcir (I hope I'm forgiven for bringing Cassie back?)
BluJay, Aerafel, Hopezen (I didn't think that things would be easy between the nations after Kelowna dropped the bomb and I wanted to explore that),
Cathy, Exploded Pen (your French is excused - I must admit it's easier to write someone wicked!)
Chrissy, LiMiYa (sorry for freaking you out and thank you for the congrats), Naitriab (I started writing on this site to help me get through some stuff life had thrown in my direction and never thought I was going to post more than a couple of chapters! Now five stories later I'm still going. I have left the ending open so I can continue if I get a spare mo and yes I am toying with the idea of bringing Cassie back).
lighteninglady, szhismine, Anon, Ans4Christ, Keane, Leah, (wow, art school, that must be amazing),
Chrissy, A FAN FRVR (I know, I know Cliff hangers are cruel but good fun!), snwptrl (I've had system probs too! Spent a relaxing hol in Ireland a few years ago, around the Ring of Kerry, an enchanted place)
seceret admirer, Chocolate (thank you for your recommending this to your friend),
Bittersweet, Laura, Sache8 (I always do a bit of research before I start, it helps feed my plot bunny, Cecil and I'm a bit of a history buff to boot!), ruthlesspeople, Beka, sammie77 & to all those who stopped by and left no footprints.
A BIG hug to all of you!!! :o) xxxx
I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed piecing it together. Thank you all for your continual support, your comments have been totally amazing and I feel very flattered that you have taken the time to review.
Thank you all again.
Until next time?????
;o)
Quote of the week
Girl Scout: Would you like some cookies?
Bible sellers: Have you heard the Good News?
Scooby: Yeah, there are cookies